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According to color theory, harmonious color combinations use any two colors opposite
each other on the color wheel, any three colors equally spaced around the color
wheel forming a triangle, or any four colors forming a rectangle (actually, two pairs
of colors opposite each other). The harmonious color combinations are called color
schemes – sometimes the term 'color harmonies' is also used. Color schemes remain
harmonious regardless of the rotation angle.
Examples:
The analogous color scheme uses colors that are adjacent to each other on the color
wheel. One color is used as a dominant color while others are used to enrich the
scheme. The analogous scheme is similar to the monochromatic one, but offers more
nuances.
Examples:
The complementary color scheme is made of two colors that are opposite each other
on the color wheel. This scheme looks best when you put a warm color against a cool
color, for example, red versus green-blue. The complementary scheme is intrinsically
high-contrast.
Examples:
Pros: The split complementary scheme offers more nuances than the
complementary scheme while retaining strong visual contrast.
Cons: The split complementary scheme is harder to balance than
monochromatic and analogous color schemes.
Tips: 1. Use a single warm color against a range of cool colors to put
an emphasis on the warm color (red versus blues and blue-
greens, or orange versus blues and blue-violets).
2. Avoid using desaturated warm colors (e.g. browns or dull
yellows), because this may ruin the scheme.
Triadic color scheme
Examples:
The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel.
This scheme is popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast while
retaining balance, and color richness. The triadic scheme is not as contrasting as the
complementary scheme, but it looks more balanced and harmonious.
Pros: The triadic color scheme offers high contrast while retaining
harmony.
Cons: The triadic color scheme is not as contrasting as the
complementary scheme.
Tips: 1. Choose one color to be used in larger amounts than others.
2. If the colors look gaudy, try to subdue them.
Examples:
The tetradic (double complementary) scheme is the richest of all the schemes
because it uses four colors arranged into two complementary color pairs. This scheme
is hard to harmonize; if all four colors are used in equal amounts, the scheme may
look unbalanced, so you should choose a color to be dominant or subdue the colors.
Pros: The tetradic scheme offers more color variety than any other
scheme.
Cons: This scheme is the hardest scheme to balance.
Tips: 1. If the scheme looks unbalanced, try to subdue one or more
colors.
2. Avoid using pure colors in equal amounts.